On the banks of Buffalo Bayou in the new East River Development, the Houston Maritime Center & Museum opened this summer, but both have prior histories.

Primetimers will visit the Houston Maritime Center and Museum on Thursday, November 13. Details to come for specific times and travel arangements.

The Center, established in 2000, evolved from a small museum in a house on Dorrington that reflected founder and naval architect James “Jim” L. Manzolillo’s unique experiences, personality, and lifelong association with the ocean.

By being on Buffalo Bayou where Houston was founded, the new site celebrates the city’s maritime connection with the world.

Presenting history, arts, culture, and sciences through a maritime lens, the center’s collection navigates a voyage through the nautical world with extensive exhibits, models, and artifacts, emphasizing interactive experiences bringing the collection to life with an emphasis on Texas. Special features include:

• Lighthouse Influences: The major modalities of waterway travel and commerce anchored by a representation of the Bolivar Lighthouse at the entrance of the Houston Ship Channel.

• Modern Maritime: Overview of 90% of the world’s goods transported by the sea and the global supply chain

• Navigation Station: Interactive exhibit station offering the experience of piloting a vessel.

• All Hands on Deck: A multi-sensory STEAM approach to maritime navigation, communication, ecology, and logistics.

In the shadows of downtown Houston, the East River Development site is not only where Houston was founded, but throughout much of the 20th century until 2010, it was occupied primarily by Kellogg, Brown & Root, which played a major role in the developent of Houston. And, until the Galveston hurricane of 1900, a cottonseed oil mill owned by William Marsh Rice was among entities on the site.

Mark your calendar now to visit this center withthe Primetimers on Thursday, November 13. Reservation and payment details will be available soon.